Always with you
by LaLaLena96
Summary: It should have been a normal day, but Tony Stark didn't think that a painful incident would change his relationship to Pepper Potts once and for all.


**Hello and welcome to this Oneshot I wrote already a few years ago and took time to rework. I really hope you like it and leave a review:D **

**Cover art by: rabid-potato ** rabid-potato/art/Iron-Man-Comfort-118838217

**Thanks a lot to my lovely beta _Pepper-Potts-Stark._**

Pepper had already cried a lot that day. Once again she dried her tears and made her way downstairs, with a big pile of papers close to her chest. When she reached the door to the workshop and typed in her security code, he was busy working on the suits. She wanted to drop the papers quickly and disappear upstairs again, but her heels on the concrete floor immediately revealed her presence. He turned around, and his happy expression grew cold as soon as he saw his assistant. She didn't look like her usual self at all. Normally, she came to work neatly styled, but now her eyes were swollen and puffy, her hair was in a low, messy bun. Her hands, which still held the papers, trembled slightly.

Worried about her condition, Tony approached her. He took the files from her hands and threw them onto his desk before he turned to her again. Carefully, he grabbed her shoulders and tried to catch her eyes, but Pepper continued staring at the floor.

"Pepper... what happened?"

Every other day, her heart would've jumped at his gentle touch, but now she just tried hard to keep the last bit of countenance. It was when her boss softly lifted her chin to make her look at him, that she lost all of her self-control. Pepper Potts, who normally was the epitome of professionalism, broke down in his arms, crying. For a brief moment, he was overwhelmed with the situation, yet he led her to the nearby leather sofa, sat down and pulled her into his arms. Her head leaned against his shoulder, and he gently stroked her back.

"Shh... Pepper, what's going on? Shh... it's all right," he tried to calm her down and pulled her tighter, but her uncontrollable sobbing didn't stop. Suddenly she flinched, her eyes were even redder than before and tears ran down her face. Desperately, she wiped her wet cheeks with the sleeve of her top and said, still sobbing:

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry... Tony... I didn't want to..."

He interrupted her by gently pulling her back into his arms. For a while, they just sat there, He cradled her and swayed her gently back and forth until she finally stopped crying.

"What happened, Pepper?", he whispered.

She took a deep breath before she straightened up and looked at him. Her eyes were empty and glassy as she quietly said:

"My dad... he...he got a cancer diagnose... They don't know...if..."

Tony opened his eyes in shock. Why hadn't she taken the day off? Why had she come to work when she was feeling so awful? With a bad conscience, he thought about whether he was asking too much of her, but he could take care of that later.

"Pep, you take the day off, and I'll drive you to the hospital, okay?"

She looked up and shook her head vehemently.

"No, that's not possible... I have to," she wiped her sleeve over her face again and looked at him, who answered shaking his head:

"The only thing you have to do is caring for yourself and your father!"

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Tony had never seen his assistant as quiet as she was now on the way to the hospital near Los Angeles. She sat in the passenger seat, staring outside and her hands nervously played with the seam of her pencil skirt. After all, she had stopped crying, but he wasn't sure if her current condition was really that big of an improvement. When they arrived at the hospital parking lot, he opened the door for her, and she got out - still in silence. With her eyes lowered, Pepper entered the building and went to the reception to log in. He followed her quietly. He couldn't stand hospitals, everything seemed sterile and cold, also the sharp and always prominent smell of disinfectant didn't make it any better. But he knew how important this visit was for her.

When they reached the room, Tony nodded to her briefly, and after she had entered, he sat down on a chair in the hallway. Sighing, he leaned his head against the wall and stared to the ceiling. He had had plenty of time to think and could not help but notice that his relationship with Pepper had changed. More than once during his three-month captivity, he had seen her in his dreams and only wished to be back with her at last. He couldn't exactly tell what it was, but seeing her cry about him when he came back from Afghanistan had touched him in a way nothing had before. She, on the other hand, had remained professional. As always. All his attempts to approach her during the last few months had failed miserably, no matter how hard he had tried. After her collapsing in his workshop, he knew how bad she felt, and he knew he couldn't take advantage of that situation. But he wanted to be there for her and maybe he could finally prove that he had changed and cared for her sincerely. He was suddenly ripped from his mind when Pepper came out of the room in front of him. She looked exactly the same as before, but a few strands had come loose from her bun and played around her face.

"Let's go," she mumbled, and Tony respected her silent request not to ask her any questions. Wordlessly they left the clinic.

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By the time they arrived back in Malibu, it was early evening and Pepper gathered her stuff, which was scattered in the living room. With the bag over her shoulder, she turned to him, muttered a "thank you" and wanted to leave the house, as he gently grabbed her by the arm and forced her to wait.

"What?", she asked quietly.

He looked into her eyes with a severe look and answered:

"Pepper... I can't let you drive home by yourself, in your condition!" He paused to think before he added: "What do you think about staying here tonight...?"

His request took her by surprise and she didn't know what to do. On the one hand, she would probably sleep better if she wasn't alone, on the other hand, he still was her boss and the situation was awkward already. Nevertheless, though she was extremely embarrassed about the state he had seen her in, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed his sudden closeness. So she nodded, and Tony smiled.

"I'll give you a shirt to sleep in..." he said and took her hand. Arriving in the master bedroom, he opened his closet, fumbled out one of his black sabbath shirts and gave it to her. Then he left her alone to change. Pepper couldn't help but smell the sweater before she put it on, but to her disappointment, it was freshly washed. She sighed.

Stop daydreaming about this man all the time...

Pepper opened the door for Tony when she was finished, and involuntarily he had to smile as he entered the room. He had already seen many women in his clothes, most of his one nightstands would wear the shirt he had worn before. But none of them had ever looked as beautiful as her. The shirt barely covered her panties, and her hair fell over her shoulders in light waves. Even if the emotional stress of the day was written all over her face, if Tony would've been asked, he would've had claimed that she was the most beautiful creature on earth. His assistant blushed under his eyes and nervously played with the hem of the T-shirt. Finally, he interrupted the uncomfortable silence.

"You can sleep here, I'll take one of the guest rooms."

She nodded, and they wished each other a good night before he left the room. He made his way to the next guest room, undressed himself to his boxer shorts, fell into the bed and closed his eyes. Sometime later he opened them again and sighed. He was used to sitting in his workshop until the middle of the night, and it was far too early for him to fall asleep. For a moment he thought about going downstairs to work on the suit, but the thought vanished as soon as he heard quiet footsteps in the hallway. A few seconds later the door slowly opened, and Pepper entered the room.

"Tony... I...I can't... I am so... well..."

In response to her stammering, he raised an eyebrow and shook his head questioningly. Pepper sighed and then muttered barely audible:

"Alone..."

With a desperate expression, she looked at Tony, who just smiled softly and patted the free space on the bed. She quickly closed the door and got into the bed next to him. She had fought with herself for a long time if she should really go to him, but she needed him now. Nevertheless, she lay as close as she could to the edge of the bed, trying to breathe deeply. He felt how tense she was and sighed softly.

"Pepper... let's forget for one night that I'm your boss and just be friends."

She didn't know what to do at first, but turned around and nodded carefully. He pulled her over, and she finally found herself close to him, her head on his shoulder and an arm over his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight. She had never felt so warm and comfortable before. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered:

"Good night, Pep."

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When Pepper woke up the next morning, she didn't know where she was at first. She was lying on her side, and a bare muscular arm was tightly wrapped around her waist from behind. She felt a warm breath on her neck and an equally muscular chest on her back. She blinked a few times until she realized who was holding her and she suddenly sat up. Tony also woke up from her jerky movement and looked at her, still half asleep. She just stared at him as if she didn't know if he was real and he took a look at the clock, moaned and sat up as well.

"Everything all right... it's way too early..." he said and took her gently by the shoulders to pull her back into his arms. She now lay facing him on her side and he had both arms wrapped tightly around her. Pepper sighed. She couldn't deny it, she felt more secure in his arms than ever, but she also knew it was wrong. Her father's condition hung over her like a shadow, and she knew she shouldn't use her current weakness to establish a closer relationship she fought her way out of his arms, ignored his silent protest and left the room.

Tony groaned. Did he do something wrong? He had just wanted to enjoy her company a little longer, and now that she was gone, he felt an unknown emptiness inside of him. Suddenly wide awake, he jumped out of bed, put on his jeans and left the room. He hoped to find her in the master bedroom and indeed she was sitting there on the bed, her head supported in her hands.

"Pep...?" he asked carefully. "What's the matter...? I... is it my fault?"

She looked at him sadly and shook her head. She stood up and approached him, but stayed just as far away that he couldn't reach her.

"I am sorry... I should go now... I have to go home, shower, change... and...", she looked at him and prayed silently that he would stop her. She didn't want to leave, and yet the situation was so awkward for her that she didn't know how to deal with it differently. Tony returned her gaze and slowly approached her until he was close enough to take her hands into his.

"Don't go..." he whispered, stroking a strand of hair from her face and then gently pulled her towards him with one hand on her neck. Pepper held her breath as their lips met and for a few seconds, she was paralyzed before she hesitantly gave into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, gently biting her lower lip, making her sigh softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring the thoughts that told her that it was wrong and absolutely not the right time to devote herself to her boss... After what felt like an eternity they separated, and He stared into Pepper's blue eyes, desperately looking for a clue if she felt the same he did. But instead of answers he only saw more questions in them, so he whispered carefully:

"Pep...? Is everything all right...?"

Pepper released herself from his embrace and went to the huge window front. She stared outside and mumbled:

"My dad... I...", she sighed heavily and tried to find the right words. "I am so confused... I don't want to take advantage of your compassion..."

Tony understood her worries and hurried to her, laid both hands on her shoulders and pulled her in a hug.

"You don't..." he tried to appease her. "Pepper, this has nothing to do with your dad..."

She nodded weakly and turned around. She put one hand on his cheek and looked into his brown eyes. She desperately wanted to believe him, but she wasn't sure whether his affection was real. She cleared her throat and said:

"I still have to go home and change..."

He just shook his head and answered:

"I'll drive you to your apartment. And then we go to the hospital. You take time off until it's all better."

Pepper wanted to disagree, but she knew that He wouldn't discuss with her. Secretly, she was grateful that he cared so much.

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They were standing in front of the same door as the day before and Tony was carrying a big sports bag over his shoulder, in which Pepper had put a few things for several days. He felt her trembling beside him and without any hesitation, he gently reached for her hand to interlock her fingers. She looked at him from the side and smiled sadly. He wasn't sure how their relationship would develop, she'd been acting strange since the kiss. But he knew he would do anything to prove to her that his feelings were sincere. When they finally entered the room, a red-haired woman stood by the bed and turned to them. Tony suspected that it had to be Pepper's sister, who she'd told him about, but who he'd never met before.

"Virginia... hey."

She let go of his hand to embrace her sister. The two looked pretty similar even though Pepper was a little slimmer and taller than her sister.

"Hey Anna, how is he?" she asked carefully, but Anna just shrugged her shoulders. Tony stood indecisively in the middle of the room and finally sat down on a chair by the window. He placed Pepper's bag on the floor next to him and watched the two women.

"The doctors haven't told us yet... "Anna replied now. "What is your boss doing here? And why did you hold hands? ... Mum will kill you if she finds out that you... well...", she stared at her father and sighed heavily. Pepper gave Tony a brief, uncertain look.

"Don't worry, I'll sort it out with Mum...," Pepper said just as the door flew open and an older, also red-haired woman entered the room. Without a doubt their mother.

"Anna... Virginia!

She didn't give any attention to Tony as she embraced her daughters and said:

"The doctor said you can stay here if you want, she had a guest room made up for you."

Finally, she looked at him with a disapproving look that made him shudder. Everything about this woman told him that she didn't like him. If he was honest, he couldn't blame her - everyone knew his reputation.

"Mr. Stark?" she said brashly. "What are you doing here?"

He remained calm and serene. He knew how tense the situation was for everyone involved and looked at Pepper reassuringly before he answered:

"I brought your daughter here, Mrs. Potts. I didn't want to let her drive alone in her condition."

Her mother raised her eyebrows and would have looked exactly like Pepper if there hadn't been the difference in age.

"You don't want to stay, do you?" she asked, and Pepper shot her a death glare she luckily couldn't see because she was still busy with Tony. Meanwhile, he answered as calmly as before:

"No."

Then he rose and left the room. Pepper turned to her mother and said:

"We'll go rest a bit..." She took Anna by the hand and the sisters followed Tony. He had waited in the hall and winked at Pepper before he gave her the bag and set off to allegedly leave the hospital.

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Anna lay down on the bed and closed her eyes as they had entered the guest room while Pepper stowed her things in the closet. The furniture wasn't anything special, as it was just an empty patients room. She sat down

on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"Are you in a relationship with him?", she suddenly heard her sister's voice and looked up at her.

"What...?" she asked carefully. Of course, she knew exactly what Anna was talking about, but if she was honest, she didn't want to think about it. She couldn't even tell herself how the relationship to her boss had changed. She loved him for a long time, but she knew as well as the rest of the world how he behaved towards women. Even though it had been a while since Pepper had complemented one of his lovers out, she wasn't sure if he was serious about her. Nevertheless, he had taken such loving care of her, and the kiss had felt as if they had never done anything else.

"Ginny, hey..." Anna had sat up and snapped her fingers in front of her sister's face.

"You and Stark... what exactly is that between you?"

She sighed.

"I don't know Anna... "

"Well, whatever it is, you seem to be very important to him...", she replied, lay back down and closed her eyes.

Pepper watched her for a short time and bit her lip - she couldn't help it. Quickly, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and texted Tony her room number. A few minutes later there was a soft knock, and she scurried to the door.

"Let's go, Anna is resting," she whispered to him, leaving the room and shut the door behind her.

"Everything all right?", He asked and looked at her. She just nodded and together they made their way to the end of the hall, to an outdated coffee machine. He made a disgusted face as soon as he took a sip of the brown liquid, and Pepper couldn't help but giggle. It was incredibly nice to see her smile again, and Tony caught himself staring at her a little too long. She stood with one shoulder leaning against the wall, the coffee cup in one hand, the other buried in the pocket of her jeans. Without him noticing, he came closer until he was only a few centimeters away from her.

"I'm sorry about my mother..." She suddenly spoke up, and he flinched a little. "My father always respected you, you know?", she continued. "Although your behavior in the past was somewhat... questionable... he always listened to what I had to say. For Mum, it was clear from the beginning that you were mistreating me."

Tony shook his head and mumbled:

"Maybe she's right..."

Pepper raised an eyebrow and looked at him in amazement. Tony threw his coffee cup along with the terrible tasting coffee into the trash and turned back to his assistant.

"All these years I've asked so much of you. Your working hours were a disaster, you always came home late at night or early in the morning... And yet you were back with me on time and full of motivation the next day. You completed tasks that went far beyond your duties. I never thanked you for doing most of my work, Pep... Without you, Stark Industries wouldn't be what it is. Without you..." he looked deep into her blue eyes and hoped she would see that he was dead serious about his words. "Without you, I wouldn't be who I am."

With her mouth slightly opened, Pepper stared at him. She hadn't expected that. She felt that he was absolutely sincere with her and all of her doubts were slowly crumbling. Tony came closer again, took the empty cup out of her hand and also threw it in the trash. She didn't make a sound, but when he turned back to her, she buried all her doubts, threw herself into his arm and kissed him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, with one hand on the back of her head he pulled her tighter and returned the kiss passionately. She seemed to be on fire, her whole body tingling and she wished somebody would stop time. Her fingers played with the hair in Tony's neck, and he sighed softly against her lips, his tongue entwining with hers in a sensual dance. Burying his fingers in her strawberry blonde hair, he held her tightly with him, too fulfilled to let go ever again. It wasn't until a harsh cough brought them back to reality that they separated from each other and Pepper turned abruptly. Anna stood behind her and looked visibly agitated.

"They have the results..." she said in a fragile voice.

Pepper looked at Tony nodding calmly, grabbed her sister's hand and together they went down the hallway. He followed them. He waited outside as they entered the room, but watched them through the window in the door to make sure everything was all right. What he saw worried him deeply, for a short time later Pepper sobbed desperately and collapsed on the floor. At that moment he just couldn't pretend he wasn't there, so He ripped the door open and dropped to his knees next to her. He ignored Mrs. Potts' objections as he lifted her into his arms and sat down on the second, unoccupied bed. Soothingly, he talked to her, held her tight and gently swayed her back and forth. She sobbed against his shoulder while she felt like something would tear her apart. Tony kept her grounded, but she felt that if he'd loosen his grip, she'd fall into a thousand pieces. Anna had hurried outside, and Pepper's mother was sitting on a chair on the wall, her eyes fixed on the floor. He could only suspect the worst, and it hurt him terribly to see the family and especially the woman in his arms like this. He didn't know how to help her, even though he knew exactly what she was going through. The death of his parents, especially his mother, had thrown him completely off track and was probably one of the reasons why he'd become the man he was. Until Afghanistan had changed everything... He knew the pain and fear of what would happen without the person he loved so much, and he wanted to save her from it. Even though he knew it was impossible.

Any sense of time had left him, but at some point, Pepper's sobs fell silent and gave way to a trembling breath. Even if she had wanted to, she wouldn't have brought out any more tears. She felt exhausted and dehydrated as never before and her eyes were burning, so she kept them closed. Tony wouldn't let her go. He wouldn't leave her alone for the world. He pulled her a little closer, held her tight, and prevented her from falling apart.

Mrs. Potts had raised her head and smiled gently.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Tony nodded and that was enough for the moment. He carefully raised Pepper on his arm again to bring her back to her room. He knew how exhausted she was. When they arrived in the guest room, He put her in bed, covered her up and took a look at his watch. It wasn't very late yet, but he lay down next to Pepper in bed and pulled her in his arms. He didn't say anything, he wanted to leave it to her when she wanted to talk about it. In fact, he finally fell asleep, but when he opened his eyes the next morning, she was gone. He quickly peeled himself out of bed, made himself representable in the small bathroom and left the room. He suspected she was with her father and he actually saw her sitting by his bed as he entered the room, her hair ruffled, her eyes red and swollen again. She looked at him and tried to smile, but her eyes remained as sad as before. Tony turned to Pepper's father, who was awake now and seemed very weak. Nevertheless, he smiled at Tony.

"Mr. Potts?", he introduced himself.

"Mr. Stark... nice to finally meet you in person. Ginny only told good things about you," he said and winked at his daughter. At least he didn't seem to have lost his humor. Pepper sniffed, and Tony laid his hand on her shoulder. She grabbed it, gently squeezed it and whispered after a few minutes of silence:

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Dad..."

Her voice sounded hoarse and almost as if she was crying again. She stood up, knelt beside the bed and laid her head on her father's chest. He wrapped his arms around her and Pepper let the tears run free. She couldn't lose him. Her father had been her greatest hero since she was a child, and he had always stood behind her ever since she grew up. No matter if it was one of her many projects in school or when she started working for Stark Industries, he had supported her with all he had. From him, she drew her strength, and she couldn't imagine what would happen if he was no longer there.

"I know, little butterfly..." Mr. Potts replied, and Tony's heart melted by the nickname he had for his daughter. "But you will make it... You became such a powerful woman, and I am damn proud of you..."

That didn't help Pepper, she just cried harder, and her body shook with tears. Tony stood helplessly beside the chair and watched the scene that took place in front of him. Somebody knocked, but Pepper didn't even notice, so he went to answer the door. Anna stood in front of him.

"Hey..."

"Hey...", she looked just as desperate as her sister, but she tried to pull herself together and went on. "Say, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? You should go to the cafeteria while there is still something there.

Pepper had lifted her head and nodded weakly. She got up, pressed a kiss to her father's forehead and followed Tony out of the room.

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He had never felt so helpless and uncomfortable. They were in the hospital's bright cafeteria at one of the small tables and Pepper sat across from him. She stared into the coffee cup, which she clasped tightly with both hands. Tony didn't want to upset or push her, but he tried to help her. So he asked carefully:

"Pep, would you like... talk to me about it...? Pep? Do you hear me?"

She looked up at him, but it was as if she looked right through him as she mumbled:

"Mmh?"

"Pep...", he put his hand on her arm softly. "You have to eat something..."

This time she looked directly at him, but he immediately wished she wouldn't have. Her eyes were glassy from all the tears, and the otherwise bright blue looked dull and colorless. She shook her head slowly, and Tony sighed.

"Pep... I know what you're going through, and I understand you...but please, at least try..."

Pepper wanted to talk to him so badly, wanted to share all her pain with him, all her fears. She couldn't imagine how terrible it must have been for him when his parents had died. He'd been younger and all alone. But as much as she wanted to talk to him, she couldn't, because she knew that once she'd say it, there wouldn't be any going back. Her father would die. Still, in silence, she looked at her plate, which only contained a small jam sandwich, and nodded. It took her about five minutes to finish a bite before she dropped the sandwich back onto the plate, sighed heavily, and supported her head in her hands.

"He doesn't have much time left, Tony..." she whispered.

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5 weeks later -

The last few weeks have been terrible. Pepper hadn't shed a tear since the funeral a few weeks ago, and despite the kiss at the hospital, she acted weird. Physically, they were closer than ever before, she was sleeping in his arms every night, even though he'd often woken up because she was rolling around and apparently plagued by nightmares. But she didn't talk to him. To be honest, she wouldn't talk to anyone else either, and Tony was increasingly worried about her behavior, but he also wanted to give her the time she needed. He had restricted Stark Industries' business as much as possible for "personal reasons" so she didn't have to work, and he could be there for her. Nevertheless, it wouldn't work for a long time, certain things couldn't be put off forever. He had to find a way to make Pepper feel better. He had tried to distract her with a walk - without much success. Arriving at the villa in Malibu he pulled her into him and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You should take a bath..." he said.

Pepper nodded and sat down on the couch. In the meantime, Tony went up to the bathroom, let the water run into the big corner tub and added Peppers favorite bath supplement. With Jarvis' help, he dimmed the light. A pleasant fragrance had spread in the bathroom and the tub was almost full. He went back down to get Pepper and found her on the couch staring at the wall without any expression. He gently took her hand and led her to the master bathroom. She smiled weakly and kissed him on the cheek before she undressed and slid into the water. Tony left and went down to the workshop. He wanted to distract himself with work, but when Pepper still wasn't back after 2 hours, he grew restless.

"Jarvis? Where's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts is still in the bathroom, sir" the AI replied with the unmistakable British accent. He left the workshop and set off to check on her. He knocked, but when he didn't get an answer, he carefully opened the door. What he saw broke his heart. Instead of relaxing in the warm water, Pepper sat there, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees. It was hardly surprising that she trembled all over since the water just covered half her body and must've cooled down considerably by now. Tony didn't think any further, he acted instinctively, undressed and got into the tub behind her.

"Jarvis, drain some water and then draw some hot back in..." he commissioned the AI and put his hands on Peppers' shoulders. Her skin was cold as ice under his fingers. Carefully he made her release her grip around her legs and wrapped his arms around her belly. He pulled her to him, leaned back and let her rest with her back to his chest, sitting between his legs. He had never been naked in front of a woman without sleeping with her, but the connection he felt now was much deeper than he could ever imagine. He held her tight and mutely stroked the naked skin under his fingers until Pepper finally said:

"I just don't know what's wrong with me... I feel like an empty shell. I should be glad I have you, you're wonderful. I'd never thought that you could be so... so", she sighed. Even without her saying it, he knew what she meant.

"I have the feeling that I traded him for you..." she whispered merely audible.

He gently kissed her shoulder and muttered against her wet skin:

"You didn't...none of this is your fault, Pepper... Try to think of the beautiful things, you had so many moments with your father that you can remember."

Pepper didn't answer and sat up again. Once more, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her head in between. Tony grabbed a soft sponge off the edge of the tub and submerged it. He also sat up and squeezed the sponge over her back, so the warm water ran over her skin. Then he pressed another gentle kiss on her shoulder and Pepper sighed before everything she'd been holding back broke out of her at once. Without warning, she started sobbing loudly, and Tony pulled her back again, embedding her head to his chest and holding her firmly in his arms. Pepper shook in tears and dug her nails into his skin, but he didn't care.

When he seriously thought about it, he had never been interested in women's feelings. How could he? He had never spent enough time with the same to let any profound topics arise. But his relationship with Pepper Potts had been different from the beginning. He couldn't even say how long he had been in love with her, but she had always fascinated him. Her ability to keep her posture even in the most unpleasant situations, and to save his butt and that of the whole company on the side. How she outclassed all men, who worked for Stark Industries, including himself. And how she still managed to look stunning every day.

Finally, she had stopped sobbing and painted patterns on his wet chest with her finger.

"Tell me about him..." Tony whispered against her hair. He knew that he couldn't take away her pain. But he would be there for her as long as the wounds would heal. And beyond that...


End file.
